Issa asks about Benghazi employees

House Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa is asking the State Department to explain the status of four employees put on paid leave as a result of the investigation into the attacks on the Benghazi consulate.

In a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry obtained by POLITICO, Issa points out that the employees were put on leave more than seven months ago but little has been done to determine their future status.

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An Accountability Review Board report released in December listed a handful of mid-management level State employees as having not completed their duties and compromised safety. The ARB investigation began shortly after the September 11, 2012, attacks on the consulate in Benghazi, Libya that killed four Americans including Ambassador Chris Stevens.

As a result of the ARB investigation, which was conducted by former Ambassador Thomas Pickering and Admiral Mike Mullen, then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton put the four employees on leave.

Since then, the report has come under fire from congressional Republicans who argue that it didn’t involve enough interviews and those who were interviewed weren’t given a chance to read their testimony.

In keeping with the criticism of the report, Issa asks in the letter whether the decision to place those employees on leave “was more a public relations strategy than a measured response to a tragedy.”

“Witnesses interviewed by the committee — including officials named by the ARB and their supervisors — are uncertain how and why the Secretary settled on paid administrative leave as appropriate course of action,” Issa wrote to State. “It is also unclear how the State Department will resolve the employment status of the officials on leave.”

Issa also points out that other employees that the committee has determined were part of the security preparations in the attack have been promoted in the interim.

State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said the agency is reviewing the request. “We have received the request and it is under review. We continue to work with Congress on all of these matters, and as we have stated before, Secretary Kerry is closely reviewing the status of the four individuals, and a decision will be made,” she said.